Julia has such happy, giant brown eyes and a smile that lights up a room!

Listed: January 13, 2013

Update from August 2016: Last year Julia got operated on, on her feet. This year she is walking like a queen! She gets therapy where she learns to walk in a straight line, jump, etc. It was amazing to see what she was capable of. She was talking a lot this year. It’s very hard to understand her, even if you speak the language, but the girls that she has been in a group with for many years understand her completely and are capable of having conversations together. She loves to go on the swing, she hates to get off again. 😉

It is hard to tell what she does and doesn’t understand. She hardly responded to any question that was asked. She only answered question about whether or not she wanted to walk around the building, go on the swing, play with the ball. It was hard to tell if she wasn’t interested in answering other questions or that she didn’t understand the other questions or didn’t know the answer.

This year she showed less harming behaviors, but they were not totally gone. See does bite herself or other smaller children around her sometimes. There doesn’t seem to be a specific reason for it. It happens on random moments. But she is totally not an aggressive girl, she is so cheerful and enthusiastic. She has been a hero in her rehab therapy. It makes me think that she can achieve a lot if she gets the chance and sets her mind to it. I would really look forward to see how she’d thrive in a family!

UPDATE FOR NOVEMBER 2015: “Julia is a very enthusiastic girl. I don’t know how else I should put it in words. Meeting Julia is an experience. She is one blast of fun and energy and happiness. When I met Julia I called her my little monkey, because as soon as your within reach, she will grab you (whereever she can) and she will climb on you. And she will hold on so tight that you don’t even have to hold her. She won’t fall. She is really strong. She loves to be hold This spring Julia got operated on her feet. Before her feet were shaped like how ballerinas hold their feet while dancing. This summer she was wearing casts and one of our last days the casts were taken off and her feet are straight. Even with the casts she was already walking on her own, without the casts she did the same. Walking was very hard for her before the operation. She could amaze me sometimes by getting up and walking a couple steps to reach something she really wanted, but now she was really capable of walking, not just a couple steps. She is still in a wheelchair most of the time though. Julia is potty trained and will tell if she has to use it. She can dress (or at least undress) herself. She can play accurate with toys, like dolls, or pretend play with kitchen tools. She also tries to brush hair and put a band in it. She is really careful when she does that. She can drink from a cup and eat by herself. Julia can say some words, she doesn’t speak in sentences. She understands what is being said to her. Julia is pretty social if you compare her to many of the other children in her group. She is willing to share toys sometimes. She likes to show you around and show you beautiful things, like flowers. She has a hard time sharing personal attention though. She just wants someone for her own. Someone that she doesn’t have to share. She wants someone who has time for her, sees her, likes her. And it’s not hard to like her. With her big smile, her beaming eyes and her loving hugs it’s easy to fall in love with this girl. Last year we think she was sedated many days that we were there. She would hardly respond to anything. She would only hold my hand, but she wouldn’t even try to hold it when I walked away. We expect that they sedated her because she is such an energetic girl and there was a lack of staff last year. This year we didn’t see that anymore. Things are better in her facility than last year. She will most likely also get some kind of physical therapy now that her casts are taken off. I’ve seen some self-harming behaviors in Julia. Sometimes she bites herself or pinches herself. She can do this so badly that she starts to bleed. She can also bite and pinch others when she is upset. This is not regular behavior for her, but I’ve seen it happen. Julia is a loving girl who desperately needs a family. She has a sweet character with a lot of fire in her spirit as well. She needs someone to get her out there, before she loses the fire in her eyes.”

From a volunteer who visited with her in July 2014: “I know Julia as a big Drama Queen. She loves attention and she’ll do anything to draw your attention. But not this year. I don’t know if she was on heavier sedatives or that she lost her strength to fight for attention. The only thing she’d do was take my hand as I walked by. Normally she’d wheel after me and try to climb on me, but it seems like there was no strength left. I missed my Julia as I know her, my little monkey. I want her to find back her energy to get out of life what’s in there. She’s an amazing girl and she deserves a loving family. She Always has a big smile on her face and she’s really caring. She takes care of dolls as if they are real babies. She feeds them, changes their diapers. She loves to play with my hair and she actually tries to put the band in it. She is amazing! She would be such a good daughter! “

From someone who met her: Julia is a girl that I know as the girl with the big smile. Somehow she just seem to smile almost always. She’s a little monkey. Whenever somebody enters her group she would crawl up to that person and just start to climb on him/her. She doesn’t even need you to give her a hand, she’ll just climb up without any help and then she hangs on your neck, looking around, proud, as if she wants to say ‘Did you see that? Do you see where I am?’

Her favorite toy is a doll. She plays with it as if it is a baby. Keeping the doll up straight, putting her down carefully. She feeds and clothes the doll. One of the nurses showed her how she should put a cotton diaper on the doll, she totally loved it. She even sings lullabies for the doll and she’ll ask visitors to do the same. She also loves to play with long hair. She really tries to make ponytails or braids.

Julia is able to walk, but her legs are really crooked, and she needs help to keep standing or to walk. Julia is described as curious and enthusiastic.

*** I am eligible for an Older Child Grant! Grant funding is dependent on a completed application and available funds.For more information, visit: Other Angels Older Child Grant***